Output at Egypt's Largest Refinery to Start In Q1 2017

The Egyptian Refining Company, a subsidiary of one of Egypt's largest investment companies Qalaa Holdings, will start production at its $3.7 billion oil refinery in the first quarter of 2017, managing director Mohammed Saad said.

The refinery, which has a capacity to produce 4.2 million tons of refined products annually, the largest in Egypt, will start trial production by the end of 2016, Saad said.

"We have completed so far 80 percent of the construction work and we will complete the rest in November then start trial operations before we start production in the first quarter of 2017," he said.

Qalaa owns 19 percent of the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), which will convert lowest value fuel oil into middle and light distillates that Egypt needs for its domestic consumption.

The firm is set to produce 2.3 million tons of diesel, 800 thousand tons of high-octane gasoline and 60 thousand tons of jet fuel in addition to unspecified amounts of butane gas and other products.

"The production from the plant will cover 50 percent of Egypt's diesel deficit," Saad said.